When my brother and I were kids, we couldn’t wait for Christmas! Every year in the week leading up to the big day, we’d resort to all manner of tom foolery to deign the contents of the boxes under the tree, first shaking them, then examining the tape for structural integrity (I found a loose corner!), then holding the boxes up to bright lights in an attempt to see through the wrapping paper.

We’d get a little relief on Christmas Eve, when our parents allowed us to open one gift each. Most of the time I’d go for one of the rattlers, the boxes that made the most noise when I shook ‘em. I did that one year and opened a box filled with blank Memorex tapes.

Yes, tapes, girl! Because back in the day, pirating music meant straight up recording songs off the radio, haha!

My family members still open one gift each on Christmas Eve…except that now mine is usually the gift I’ve gotten myself as a Christmas treat.

Yes, I know that’s cheating.

This year it’s this pair of black feather-and-chain earrings Santa found at Nordstrom for $12. I’d been looking for a pair of feather earrings for a while but kept finding ones that looked too feathery. I didn’t want Tabs attacking my bling, but I’m hoping that the addition of chains and rhinestones in these tells Tabs that no, Mom does not have a bird hanging from her ears.

It being Christmas Eve, what are some of your family’s Christmas (or other holiday) traditions?

That’s just one of the many questions you could answer to enter today’s Sephora eCard giveaway.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, how do you feel about fruitcake? When was the last time you had eggnog? What was one of your favorite presents you remember getting as a child? How does your family celebrate the holidays (this or any other time of year)? Is it snowing out where you live? — you get the idea.

Second, you can enter by following me on Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:

Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/uGF8bd

The deadline to enter is Sunday, December 25, 2011 at 11:59PM (PT).

Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.

A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.

Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).

Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.

Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.

We open our gifts on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we had “Santa Gifts”. Despite all the grand foods and beverages we have never been an eggnog family and I didn’t even sample any til I got to college LOL.

Our neighbors sent over a fruitcake. Had no idea that people still passed that old thing around. There’s really only 1 fruitcake in the World – people just keep regifting it!
â„â„Happy Holidays â„â„

Our family tradition is going to church on Christmas eve and then staying in our pajamas all day Christmas day. we have breakfast, open gifts, then hang out all day playing with our toys I wish it was snowing but not yet this winter

One year when I was either 9 or 10, I actually found a bunch of my Christmas presents in my parents’ closet! Somehow they still managed to surprise me with an expensive collectible doll I’d been saving up for for months!!

I’ve never had this fruitcake or eggnog you speak of. However, my family has always had this tradition of spinning yarns regarding how Santa entered the home to deliver presents. The default story for my six-year-old daughter may involve Santa taking the elevator like everybody else; coming in through the living room window(s), or through the vents.

When I was her age, things weren’t as complicated: the apartment mom and i lived in had a faux fireplace with mantle. She, my brothers, and our neighbors told me that Santa pushed an invisible button and entered that way–somehow without disturbing the framed photos and bric-a-brac displayed on the mantle. I guess the reindeer were chillin’ on the building’s roof per usual. (._.)

No snow yet here in Chicago; my daughter WILL have questions if none shows up tomorrow. Meh.

We always open up one gift n Christmas Eve too, usually right before getting into our pajamas and piling into the car to go look at Christmas lights. Merry Christmas, Karen!Carolyn recently posted … Organizing the Stash

Our new tradition is to have christmas eve be our christmas! Since our family has grown, we’ve got millions to go to! We also do the chinese christmas, or white elephant game, it’s sooo fun, and since my family is huge, you never know what’s going to happen! I love eggnog, and I’ve never had fruitcake, lol! Merry Christmas to you and Tabs!

On of thee BEST childhood Xmas gifts has to be receiving my Barbie DreamHouse!!!=D I thought that was THE best thing ever!! It had multiple rooms, and my parents brought furniture for every single room. I even had a toilet that flushed!!!!! And even now as a woman in her 30’s, I still LOVE Barbie! I cannot wait to introduce my own daughter to that world!!

I always thought I hated eggnog because I had only tried that terrible stuff from the grocery store that tastes like liquid bubble gum. But then I tried a homemade nog and it was delicious! So now I get to enjoy it every Christmas! Yay!

We did not exchange gifts at Christmas, but I do have many fond memories of Christmas. First night mass and than the special meal we had in the middle of the night after night mass, that was so special, even after I myself stopped going to church it was such fun to set up and prepare the table for the family! And I also remember anxiously awaiting with my brothers at the top of the stairs ’till Christmas breakfast was ready, it was such a feast for us Breakfast is till my favorite meal of the day I miss those Christmasses, we haven’t been all together as a family for over 8 years

Happy holidays! I’ve found that this is the time to try new recipes at the last minute, and basically people have to eat your baking because they’re being nice. LOL. Anyway… beauty-related: I lurve the Hourglass Primer. That stuff is the smoothest magic ever to help me put my makeup on.

Happy Holidays everybody! I love fruit cake but haven’t eaten any in a long time. Today I’m wearing my t-shirt with the bow on the front so I look like a present lol, I live in Florida and its a gorgeous sunny day.Getting ready to stand in line to get the honey baked ham for Christmas dinner. Tonight I’ll make the macaroni and cheese and candied sweet potatoes. Every year I watch the movie Christmas Story over and over again while I make preparations for Christmas day.

On Christmas Eve we get to open one present, which is always pajamas so we’ll have cute new jammies for pictures Christmas morning. It’s still a favorite tradition of mine, even at 31, I can’t wait to see what ones I get tonight!

My husband is more of a kid than my 7 yr old daughter. Every day this past week he’s been asking for his present. He even let me open one of his in attempt to convince me to let him do the same. Nope, he has to wait. Merry Christmas Karen!

I’ve never tried eggnog. But at work I tried an eggnog flavored coffee and almost spit it out all over my desk. Not my thing. I think I’ve entered at least ten of these. Eventually I will win one. Positive thoughts. xoMichelle Miller recently posted … Garden Botanika Lash Primer

One of my favourite Christmas memories is when my mom would bring home this big basket of jams and cheeses that her boss gave her, and we would feast on that and specially letter-shaped pancakes. Nothing extravagant, but it made me smile

Merry Christmas Karen! I think this is my first time commenting but I’ve been following this blog since the beginning of this year I think. As a fellow cat lady, I love how creative your blog is and I hope you’ll continue blessing your readers with honest reviews and many more beautiful pictures of Tabs.
Thanks for all the hard work that you do! â™¥

My favorite gift I’ve ever received was from my best friend. One of the things she got me was this pair of HUGE sweatpants from Victoria’s Secret, and even though they aren’t exactly cute, they’re the comfiest pair I’ve ever worn!

This is my first comment, but I have been following your blog for a while – my go to site to help me make quick buy-it-or-not decisions, since you and I have about the same skin tone. I live in Toronto and I love your vast coverage of brands and swatch/sample looks. Thank you!!

I don’t care for fruitcake but I used to make killer eggnog. That was before it was so taboo to eat raw eggs. It was so delicious. Eggnog from a store is not the same. My kids and I will go to midnight Mass and then come home, have breakfast and open our gifts. Tomorrow is for sleeping and eating. I’ve got a pie in the oven right now.

I love those earrings! I’m not really a feather kind of girl but it looks so nice in black.
my family and I are going to Daly City tonight to celebrate with my mom’s side of the family. Tomorrow, we’re going to Stockton to celebrate with my dad’s side. We do this every single year. I just wanna stay home!
I can’t wait to get money! I’m gonna get BF3 and a new PS3 controller. I hate sharing the PS3 with my sister so I’m not gonna let her play with it!! Always copy what I do then if I don’t let her do certain things, she tattletales on me! sucks! Sorry for ranting lol

My brother just came home so I finished helping him wrap his presents (men!) and we’ll go to a Christmas Eve service at our church, then we drive home through some local neighborhoods to see lights. When we get home, we eat dinner and open presents from extended family. Tomorrow we’ll open gifts from the four of us (mom, dad, me and brother) and go see a movie! My parents want to see War Horse and my brother and I are going to see Sherlock Holmes. It’s become a tradition for my bro and I to see a movie so I’m looking forward to it!

It’s over 50 degrees here in VA where I live (about an hour south of DC) and it really doesn’t feel like Christmas! But I can’t complain about the mild winter we’re having so far.

When was the last time you had eggnog?
Last year? I can only drink a few sips before it just starts tasting too rich for me…

What was one of your favorite presents you remember getting as a child?
One year my parents got me and my little brother one of those little plastic play kitchens. We loved that thing! Played with it all the time.

How does your family celebrate the holidays (this or any other time of year)?
Usually we go to either my aunt and uncle’s house in Connecticut, or just stay home (at my parents’ house).

Is it snowing out where you live?
No, and I’m really disappointed. It’s been a warm winter so far. Just doesn’t feel like Xmas without some snow on the ground!

This is the first year in my life that I haven’t had a mince pie at Christmas! I simply can’t find them in any stores, so I guess I will have to try and make my own! They are absolutely my favourite holiday treat!

Fruitcake can be great or it can be horrifying, depending on the source. Hubby and I order it from Collin Street Bakery most years, and it’s fabulous. Moist, flavorful, and stuffed full of pecans and fruit. Homemade is excellent too – a friend of mine made it from Alton Brown’s recipe this year and it ROCKS. Some of the commercial stuff I’ve had in the past, however, could be used to hammer in nails. No thanks!Liz recently posted … Ultima II eyeliner: Jade/Bronze Moire

There is at least one good recipe for fruitcake in the universe, because I’ve tasted the results. It helps if you like rum though! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Karen and all! I enjoy the blog very much!

My husband is making his annual batch of Lobster Bisque (YUM!!). It’s our tiny family’s tradition. And I love eggnog AND fruitcake. I truly must be the only person on the planet that likes fruitcake LOL!

I am from from Peru where the holiday = Christmas and it is during the SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!! and we don’t do the gift thing too much, but we eat LOTS! Now I live in MI and is in depressing winter, it snows (not right now actually), and we still don’t do that much of the gift thing but we do eat.
I have never tried fruitcake, but I LOVE Panettone, Christmas is not Christmas without it…for me at least.
Happy Holidays Karen!

This tiny little story will make you all jealous….we, in my country, don’t celebrate 1..but 2 xmas days!!! normally only 1 will be filled with gifts, but we get 2 days off as bank holidays and we get to eat good food during those days

I would like to thank you for a wonderful year of reviews, for introducing me to many new products, to turning me into a hardcore MAC junkie (something I could have done without given my finances, or rather lack thereof, at this time) and all your hard work on creating a wonderful blog and source of fun and entertainment for me and so many others. I know Santa will be very good to you this year for all your caring and generosity. Happy holidays and Good luck to ALL in this giveaway.

Christmas Eve is always the main day for my family’s holiday traditions. We always have a very nice dinner (prime rib and all the yummy British side dishes) and open family presents. Since we are all grown up now, we spend Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas day with my in-laws. So blessed!

Re: fruitcake, always hated it but a good friend of mine made some from scratch this year with Brandy in it and wow, it was the most wonderful tasting thing ever! Hope you have wonderful holidays and thank you for the giveaway offer! Diana

Enjoying the Christmas holiday thus far but I lowkey wished we would have gotten some snow (I live in the South) but I am glad that it’s not bitterly cold and I have enjoyed getting out seeing all the families walking around and not looking like their faces are about to freeze off.

One year I got the doll carriage I really wanted. Only, the hood was broken off. My sister, the tomboy, got an identical doll carriage, all in one piece. Mine had a note attached from Santa: that it had fallen off the sleigh and he was terribly sorry. I felt special. After all. how many kids could say that they got a gift that had fallen off Santa’s sleigh? AND a note from Santa? It was until years later, a moody teen, feeling like the world was against me that I realized that I’d been royally ripped off! As a parent now, I realize that we make decisions, which don’t always make sense to everyone, but seem right at the time. Merry Christmas!

We finally chipped in and bought my dad a snow blower for our street that doesn’t get plowed (don’t worry he’s not reading a beauty blog, I can spill the beans) and there has not been a single snowflake this year. We were practically snowed in the last two years. I’m on the fence about whether I want him to be able to test it out or not though…

Well, my parents had me in their 40s and my Dad was totally smitten with me (my parents love story was epic) so when he was able to have time off to fully decorate the tree he would and during my first year it was also his first year working a new job. The day he finally had off was Christmas eve and he decorated the tree with me sitting in a baby carrier underneath. Lights went on and I supposedly I was intrigued. Every year this was a ritual we carried out Dad and I lights and ornaments no Mom allowed! Dad passed away in 2006, and every year I put up the tree in the order we always did, talking to him along the way, no Mom allowed!

It’s not snowing but it’s pouring where I am in Houston. Traditionally we do lots of cooking on Christmas eve for Christmas day so I’ve tried to start another tradition… In and Out for dinner the night before Christmas.

I’m with Stephanie on this one. It’s a wet & chilly 44 degrees here in Houston. It’s been raining all day. For the holidays my family usually starts cooking on Christmas Eve. Our traditional Mexican dishes consist of a soup called Pozole (made w/pork, hominy, garlic, onion, chili peppers, cilantro & broth). Then if we aren’t stuffed enough with that , we proceed to make fresh hot chicken tamales! We try to stay up past mid-night for Christmas Day (that’s unless we haven’t fell into a food coma). As for egg nog, I’d have to say the Southern Comfort brand they sell at the supermarket is the bomb-diggity. LOL

Um, does anyone really like fruitcake? Maybe…but in my family, we do the whole “pass the fruitcake on” dance, regifting to friends and family who probably do the same thing! Oh, and I’ve never had eggnog-but I’ve been curious to try it lately. Merry Christmas!

Our family is just enjoying all the yummy food and drinks and gaining a pound every 2 hours haha,. we’ll be going to midnight mass tonight, love listening to the choir and remembering the true meaning of Christmas!! Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Living in the Northeast, we have snow sometimes for Christmas. From the time my son was 2 or 3, we started using skiis to make Santa’s sleigh tracks leading up to the house. It always looks pretty convincing. It’s also pretty comical to try and make sleigh tracks at 1 AM, after a few eggnogs, without making footprints, and wide enough apart. Hopefully this, along with many other traditions made my son’s holiday memories.

Merry Christmas Karen! I’ve always heard about the connection between fruitcake and Christmas, but I’ve never once had fruitcake. I am a big fan of cake in general, so I’m sure I’d like fruitcake too. =)

I’m currently on a family vacation in Orlando, but I can’t wait to go back home to Georgia because I’m looking forward to making cookies! I’ll get home on Christmas and won’t be able to bake until the days afterward, but I’ll still be poppin them gingerbread cookies out! I hope you have a merry Christmas!

To be honest, I’ve never had eggnog. The though of all that cream and raw egg makes my stomach churn. I worked at Starbucks one holiday, and I remember we could only heat the eggnog lattes to 140 degrees, or they would curdle. Eew. haha

Karen, I hope you and El Hub and Tabs have a very, very Merry Christmas! We used to open one gift on Christmas Eve, too. Now, with the kids, it’s my parents’ house and a total exchange. Then just us on Christmas day. The Hubs and his Dad are doing a little Santa work as I type! Enjoy your day tomorrow!!! Oh, and my mom and sis got me Sephora gift cards this year. I have my eye on that clarisonic!

Merry Christmas! One of our traditions is that we have a certain breakfast casserole for breakfast every Christmas morning before opening gifts. I’ve already made the casserole and will pop it in the oven tomorrow morning. I’ll make hashbrowns with it and have some fresh fruit on the side. Mmm.

It’s been in the 70’s here all month, so I have been obsessively making wreaths and ornaments for weeks. For the past four days I have made about 10 dozen cookies. . . I think I have convinced myself it might actually be a winter wonderland out there LOL!!!! Happy Holidays everyone

Merry Christmas!
I hate the candied fruit pieces in fruitcake but I like the actual spiced, liquor soaked cake, so I always take the time to pull those bright green & red pieces of fruit out of the cake before I eat it

Merry Christmas! When I was 6 or 7,I got the My Little Pony waterfall set, I was so happy and shocked I started crying (we were dirt poor, I *never* expected to get it, it was my “dream” item on my xmas list). I had it up until high school just for the happy memory, when it got lost in one of our many moves. I still get happy just thinking about it – it even came with a rubber ducky for the pony!

The last time I had eggnog was at my friend’s Christmas party on Saturday. What nobody told me was that there had been brandy added to it, and my friend’s parents drank nearly half the bowl of eggnog that had been set out for the party. Needless to say, my friend ended up being the designated driver for the night.

Childhood Christmas makes me warm just thinking about it!!! My mother would cook and bake the most wonderful food…sweet potato pies, peach cobbler, turkey and dressing, and if we were lucky, daddy would make oh-so-delicious gumbo and french garlic bread to go with it…my brothers and I would listen to the Christmas carol records by Firestone Tire Co., and help my dad put up the Christmas lights…we would go to the freight yard in downtown Los Angeles and get a tree fresh off the train, have the stand put on and watch it get flocked…oh, I miss being a little girl and having such wonderful Christmases, but I have sweet, sweet memories…

My favorite tradition is going to midnight services and then having a bunch of people back to our house for a party. We’d be up until 3 or 4 AM. Then my Dad would wake us up between 6 and 7 AM- popping champagne corks- bellowing “get up Santa has been here- get up!”

we go to our friends of the family on xmas eve and to my grandmas afterwards. we open gifts on xmas morning before we go to my moms side of the family (we rotate houses). thats pretty much it.. havent made xmas cookies in years
hope you and tabs and el hub have a great christmas!

My favorite presents as a child were always in my stocking. I have this strange pen fetish and my mother would always get me really cool pens and lip products that went in my stocking. It was always my favorite part!

I miss the excitement I had as a child for Christmas. I still love this time of the year as an adult and that’s because I know the true meaning of Christmas, however, I do miss that feeling you got on Christmas Eve when you knew it was time to go to sleep!!!!

Favorite Christmas memory had to be when me and my little brother were younger, my dad placed a red piece of yarn in the fireplace. When we came down Christmas morning to open our presents, my dad went “Look! Santa must have ripped his pants when he was going back up! Guess Mrs. Claus is having to sew his pants back together!” We lost our minds. We were like Elf “SANTAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

My family sits around the Christmas tree (decked with unintentially kitschy, nostalgic baby photos) and take turns opening gifts. It’s traditional and fun–especially because about half the gifts are fun gag gifts.